Training for The Wall

The time-on-feet principle is central to Wall preparation. Build your long run progressively through your training block, targeting roughly marathon distance (26 miles / 42km) as your longest single effort, ideally 2–3 weeks before race day. After that, taper progressively — reduce your weekly mileage each week so your legs are genuinely fresh at the start line, not carrying accumulated fatigue from a hard training block.

Your peak training week should aim for around 60–70 miles across all your runs and hikes combined. This is roughly the race distance across the week — not in a single session.

A popular format: a long run in the morning followed by a long hike or easy run in the afternoon on the same day. This combination of running fatigue and walking volume is excellent Wall-specific preparation. Remember: what's right for one runner isn't right for another. Training should match your experience, goals and schedule.

Multiple experienced Wall runners specifically mention strength and conditioning as a race-saver. It comes up consistently in post-race reflections — both from those who did it and those who wished they had.

Focus on: glute strength, single-leg stability (step-ups, single-leg squats), calf raises for descents, and core work. Strong hips and glutes protect your knees and ankles over 70 miles of varied terrain.

Night training runs get unanimous agreement in the community. Running in the dark feels fundamentally different to daytime running — your pace drops, your mind plays tricks, and the psychological challenge is real. Being familiar with running in the dark before race day makes a huge difference.

Practice with your headtorch on terrain similar to The Wall's second half.

Train your gut to handle food while running. This is a specific, trainable skill. Practice eating every 20–30 minutes on your long runs — gels, real food, snacks — so your digestive system adapts to processing calories while your body is working hard.

Race day is not the time to discover you can't handle gels at pace. Find out what works for your stomach during training, not during the race.

Practice with all your kit and know how to use it — this is among the most repeated advice from experienced Wall runners. Your vest loaded with water and food, your poles, your rain jacket, your mandatory kit — all of it. Kit that feels fine empty feels very different after 6 hours with 2 litres of water, layers and snacks inside it.

Once or twice in your training block, do two long efforts on consecutive days. A very long run Saturday + long hike Sunday. This teaches your body to function when already fatigued — which is exactly what The Wall demands from mile 40 onwards. Recovering while still moving is a learnable skill.

The dark moments are normal. Every Wall runner experiences them. The difference between finishers and DNFs is often just the knowledge that dark moments pass — they always do.

Break the race into sections. When it gets hard, focus only on reaching the next landmark — the top of a hill, the next village, the next checkpoint. Don't think about the finish, just the next thing. Before you know it you'll be there.

Talk to people. From 2-minute chats to 2-hour conversations — all vital for motivation. Wall runners consistently report that talking to strangers on the course does wonders for morale, especially through the dark sections.